Staff Photo by Cindy HepnerStanding behind the counter of the Golden Pigeon Restaurant in Upper Deerfield are Ozkan Akilli, left, and Gasim Akilli. They also own the day camp in Fairfield Township.

FAIRFIELD TWP. — Fairfield Township Committee failed to approve a resolution issuing a business license for Akilli-Capps Picnic Park, thanks in large part to the hue-and-cry the appearance of the resolution on the agenda generated among the citizenry.

The property has been operated as a day camp and a picnic park under various owners for decades, and has always done so without the benefit of a business license.

Ozkan and Gasim Akilli purchased the park last year. Gasim Akilli owns the Golden Pigeon in Upper Deerfield and the Towne Tavern, in Bridgeton.

The land where the park exists is zoned as R-2. In order to operate a business on the property, the owner must apply for a use variance from the planning and zoning board.

“We haven’t seen an application for a variance,” said Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Mark Chiappini. “And to our knowledge there has never been a use variance granted for that property.”

Chiappini, along with many other residents, expressed his misgivings before the committee during the public comment portion of the meeting, and urged the committee to consider the laws and regulations of the township when voting on the resolution.“Zoning ordinances are based on the township’s master plan, which was devised in 2009,” Chiappini stated.

“Every property has permitted uses, depending on how it is zoned, and R-2 properties cannot be used for business unless a use-variance is granted. In order to get a variance, the owner of the property must come before the Planning and Zoning Board.”

Residents from the Clark’s Pond area, and across the township, echoed Chiappini’s objections regarding the legality of the resolution, and voiced concerns about the consequences such a business would have on the quiet, residential neighborhood.Initially, the resolution to grant a business license for the Akilli property was a combined resolution also granting a business license to Mainline Fuel.

However, following the public outcry, the two were split into separate resolutions. The license for Mainline Fuel was granted by a 5-0 vote.

When the time came to adopt the resolution, no member of the committee would make a motion to adopt; as a result, the resolution died.

That doesn’t mean that it will not make another appearance at an upcoming committee meeting, a concern expressed by several citizens in the second public comment portion of the meeting.